James W. “Jim” Walker, Jr. was one of the 14 founding members of Orange Empire back in 1956. Jim passed away on the morning of September 24. He was two weeks shy of his 83rd birthday.

Jim, besides being one of the founding (or charter) members of the Orange Empire, served the organization in multiple positions. He was the original Secretary and later served as the President. And along the way, either ex-officio or directly elected -- as the bylaws changed, he was a member of the Board of Directors for a good number of years.

Orange Empire started as Orange Empire Traction Company and was soon renamed Orange Empire Trolley Museum to better reflect its mission. Orange Empire was later to be renamed Orange Empire Railway Museum after merger with California Southern Railroad Museum. More recently the corporate name was changed to Southern California Railway Museum, but continued to operate as OERM.

While Jim was not at the 1961 organizing meeting of the Association of Railway Museums, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the new organization. A.R.M. was slow in coming to life and Jim took on the job of producing and mailing the original membership newsletter “A.R.M. Report to You” for a number of years.

Jim was also involved with George M. “Mac” Sebree in running Interurban Publications after the passing of Ira Swett who started “Interurbans.”

Jim had health problems in the last several years.

I remember after closing up the the Italian joint late one nasty hot weekend in 86 or 87 - part of the crew went to see if the AC worked in the PE caboose and Jim invited the rest of us to spend the night at his house instead of sweating all night in the bunk room. I was worried about messing his place up and I think he mentioned cleaning for two weeks after we covered the floor, couch and spare room with our museum dust, but we were all grateful for the decent night's sleep. Great guy and a steady hand at OERM.

RIP Jim.

Jim was a genuine good guy and always helpful to us. One thing he didn't like was when the ARM held its convention in a cold climate. I'd be in short sleeves and he'd be in a winter coat. Too far from Southern California.

My condolences to all at OERM and everyone else who knew him.

Phil Mulligan

Even though I was a minor member, Jim always remembered my name and greeted me with a warm smile. He was one of the all around good guys and a fun person to hang around with. His contributions to the museum go far beyond job titles and accomplishments. He will be missed.